Outstanding Volunteers shine at Southern Sydney NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards

Outstanding Volunteers shine at Southern Sydney NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards

Volunteers from across the Southern Sydney region were today recognised for their outstanding contribution to volunteering in NSW at a special ceremony in Gymea.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards is an annual event run by The Centre for Volunteering and is the biggest celebration of volunteering across the country.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Award recipients from the Southern Sydney region are:

Award Category

Winner

Young Volunteer of the Year

Emily Jane Miles, Dress for Success Sydney

from Narwee

Adult Volunteer of the Year

Paul Signorelli, Biaggio Signorelli Asbestos Foundation

from Blakehurst

Senior Volunteer of the Year

Louise Temperley, Dress for Success Sydney

from Sutherland

Volunteer Team of the Year

Tradies Volunteers, The Sutherland District Trade Union Club

from Gymea

Overall Regional Winner

Paul Signorelli, Biaggio Signorelli Asbestos Foundation

from Blakehurst

The Centre for Volunteering CEO Gemma Rygate said volunteers from across the region have made an enormous contribution to the local community.

“Volunteers from across the area give their time helping in schools, hospitals, for sporting clubs, the environment, and with so many community based organisations,” Ms Rygate said.

“They all give so much without asking for anything in return.

The Senior and Young NSW Volunteer of the Year recipients, Louise Temperley and Emily Jane Miles, from Dress for Success Sydney.

“It was so pleasing to recognise their outstanding efforts and also celebrate the special contribution of the volunteers chosen to represent the region in November at the State final of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards.

The Young and Senior Volunteer of the Year winners, Emily Jane Miles and Louise Temperley, are volunteers at Dress for Success Sydney, giving so much of their time to mentor and help women by providing free professional attire and career support.

The team of 119 volunteers at Tradies Volunteers was a standout nomination and winner of the Volunteer Team of the Year Award, providing almost 3,000 hours of volunteer work to 27 local community organisations last year.

The Tradies Volunteers provided almost 3,000 hours of volunteer work last year.

The Adult Volunteer of the Year and overall Southern Sydney Volunteer of the Year was Paul Signorelli who is a relentless advocate for dozens of charities and community based causes throughout NSW. 10 years ago, he established Biaggio Signorelli Foundation which is dedicated to finding early detection, treatment, care and ultimately a cure to asbestos related illnesses.

The 2018 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards is supported by principal partners the Department of Family and Community Services NSW and ClubsNSW, which represents the state’s 1,400 not-for-profit clubs. They are also supported by Etchcraft and Thrifty Car & Truck Rentals.

NSW Minister responsible for Volunteering, the Hon. Ray Williams, said the state’s 2.1 million volunteers contributed to more than $5 billion to the NSW economy every year.

“Nominating local volunteers for an award or a certificate is a special way of saying thank you,” Mr Williams said.

“The fact that so many nominations were received this year is recognition of the amazing effort of volunteers across NSW who help build stronger communities.

ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball said that volunteers are the backbone of registered clubs across NSW.

“ClubsNSW is very proud to support the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards and every one of the amazing volunteers recognised today,” Mr Ball said.

“Clubs across NSW rely on 32,000 volunteers to help make their venues a vibrant and enjoyable experience,” Mr Ball said.

“They also contribute so much more to our wider community, adding billions of dollars to the NSW economy each year.”

The Centre for Volunteering would like to thank the generosity of the following organisations for their ongoing support of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards:

Background

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards is an annual program launched in 2007 by The Centre for Volunteering to recognise the outstanding efforts of the 2 million+ volunteers in NSW, and to promote the importance of volunteering to the community. The Awards are a celebration of the amazing commitment and achievements volunteers make in our communities and a chance for us to come together to give our thanks. The Awards acknowledge the efforts of thousands of volunteers, volunteer managers, volunteer involving organisations and corporates in bringing about social change through volunteering.